The core realms are the basis for the worldbuilding elements inherent to many of Daggerheart’s mechanics, such as its ancestries and adversaries.

The Mortal Realm

Most adventures will likely take place in the Mortal Realm. This is the land, sea, and sky, where mortals live out the entirety of their lives—the plane where the majority of all material beings and objects exist. Stories say this realm was created by the Forgotten Gods during the Earliest Age and that these immortals traveled between the Hallows Above and this new plane as easily as waking from a dream. During this time, the gods were familiar to the mortals and acts of divinity were commonplace—be they wonderful or terrifying. When the Forgotten Gods were overthrown by the New Gods, many of these ancient deities were trapped within this plane eternally.

This realm is also occupied by the Faint Divinities, lesser deities created by both the Forgotten and the New Gods to oversee the Mortal Realm. Many are considered to be quite capricious, and though their spheres of influence are smaller than the gods who created them, they can greatly influence the lives of mortals.

The Hallows Above

The Hallows Above are the collection of deific territories that once belonged to the Forgotten Gods before the New Gods claimed it at the end of the Earliest Age. Because this place is closely connected with most other realms, the gods residing here can see and speak with the creatures of the Mortal Realm without leaving their domain, though those with whom the gods communicate may find their methods strange or obfuscated. There are ways by which the New Gods can leave the Hallows Above to occupy other realms, but in the current age they must always sacrifice something of personal importance to do so. It’s rumored that this burden was necessitated by their desire to protect the Hallows from the Forgotten Gods should they rise again, as the Forgotten Gods (or any being from the Mortal Realm) would also have to forfeit much to enter the Hallows Above. These sacrifices have caused some of the great calamities that have befallen the Mortal Realm in recent millenia.

The Circles Below

The Circles Below are the collection of lower realms where many of the Forgotten Gods, those who fought the most passionately during the uprising, were banished. Known as “the Fallen Gods”, these deities lost the Divine War with the New Gods during the Earliest Age and have since been deemed “evil practitioners of tainted magic”. Thus the Faint Divinities who were banished alongside them are commonly referred to as “demons”, and those that descended from these creatures also bear the weight of that identifier.

The Circles Below are considered places of corruption, destruction, and violence. Stories say this dominion is home to some of the most dangerous creatures in the core realms. Most other planes have safeguards against Fallen who wish to cross from the Circles Below. Within the Mortal Realm, the use of arcane magic in acts of great evil is said to open a temporary rift between the two planes, allowing Fallen to pass through.

The Realms Beyond

The cosmos holds many realms beyond these—the Elemental Lands, the Astral Realm, the Valley of Death, and countless others. Accessing and traversing these places from the Mortal Realm requires specialized knowledge and hard-learned skills. Still, some of the beings in the core realms guard these secrets closely and could be persuaded to share them—for a price.